Austin Man Shot By Police Pleads Guilty

Austin, MN (KROC-AM News) - An Austin man has pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a brief high-speed chase in late April during which he was shot and wounded by an Austin police officer.

26-year-old Edgar Rodriguez admitted to felony counts of First-Degree Damage to Property and Fleeing a Peace Officer. The chase, which hit speeds around 70 miles per hour in residential neighborhoods, began after Austin Police responded to a report of an erratic driver.

The shooting occurred after Rodriguez was cornered by police and responded by ramming the vehicle he was driving into an officer’s squad car. Rodriguez was apprehended a short time later after a Mower County Deputy performed a so-called PIT maneuver to stop his vehicle.

He spent several days at St. Mary’s Hospital being treated for a gunshot wound to his right hand before he was transferred to the Mower County jail.